The Feminization of Epistemology: Gender and the Social Sciences

In: Women & politics, Band 7, Heft 3, S. 65-83

Abstract

The antifoundational critique in the social sciences & certain elements of contemporary feminist theory exhibit striking similarities. Both movements attack the rationalist epistemology of the Enlightenment &, specifically, the two central dualisms on which that epistemology rests: rational/irrational & subject/object. Feminists point out that these dualisms are derivative of the fundamental male/female dualism. An antifoundational feminist position would entail the transcendence of these dualisms that characterize Enlightenment thought & have defined the feminine as inferior. Despite the differences between some aspects of contemporary feminism, the creation of an antifoundational feminist position would represent an important addition to the contemporary debate. 38 References. HA